Kennewick adopts ordinance banning driveway and parking-lot cut-throughs after safety review

The Kennewick City Council on Sept. 16 adopted an ordinance that makes it an infraction to use private driveways or parking lots to avoid intersections or traffic-control devices. The measure, which adds section 11.36.130 to the Kennewick Municipal Code, passed the council by a 5-1 vote.

City traffic staff and public-works officials told the council the ordinance responds to a concentrated cut-through problem near a recently reconfigured intersection where staff recorded nine collisions over 14 months prior to an earlier curb extension. Staff estimated 10–15 cut-through trips per hour at that location — roughly 80–120 per weekday — and recommended a citywide prohibition so…